


there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin

by dinglehorton



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Violence, but I mean it's wrestling so...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-30
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-06 21:30:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4237326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinglehorton/pseuds/dinglehorton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>just a prompt dump for all of my Ambrollins/Ambreigns/Ambrolleigns tumblr prompts. you can prompt <a href="http://mackenbrose.tumblr.com/ask">here at my tumblr</a> and they will be filled here :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first wrestling fic (regarding the Shield) here, though not my first foray into wrestling fic as a whole. I'd like to forget the part of my life that involved me posting really horrible stories over at the equally horrible FanFiction.net. These are all drabbles/short-ish fics and probably not connected at all unless otherwise stated in the notes. All trigger warnings will be listed in the beginning notes, so read those just in case :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous said: post betrayal ambrollins hurt and comfort with dean having to save seth.

It's appropriate that The Authority turns on him in the same way that he turned on his brothers. It's almost fucking poetic if he really stops to think about it, but when the steel chair slams down against his back for the third time Seth wants nothing more than to not think about it. Seth wants to curl up into a ball and wait until the whole ordeal is over. He's not surprised that Hunter was the one to initiate it; Seth remembers how tight Hunter’s smile had been after Seth borrowed the Pedigree. Seth had never meant it to be insulting. He had been trying to honor his mentor, but Hunter must have seen it as some sort of threat. The animosity between the Authority and Seth the past few months had been palpable. He's actually surprised that they waited so long to regroup without him. He abandoned his family for this, threw away their friendship, their love and trust for success and the Authority. And suddenly everything he’s ever worked for is all ripped away because there isn’t enough room for Triple H’s ego and his own success in the WWE.

 

He wonders though, as Hunter stomps his foot down onto Seth's back, if this had been the plan all along. If somehow their betrayal was always looming in the background. Triple H and the McMahon’s never stayed with the proclaimed “future of the company” for long. Seth guesses that he owes Orton an apology now. All those months ago Randy had warned him; had cornered him alone in a deserted hallway to remind Seth what Evolution had once done for him and then to him. But Seth doesn’t take him seriously; points out that without Evolution Randy would probably be some jobber. And maybe it's true, maybe Randy would have never succeeded on his own without Evolution, maybe he would have been a huge superstar all on his own. But Randy was right about Hunter this time. Seth probably should have seen it coming, considering how he had ended up at the top himself.

 

He barely even registers Dean's new entrance music blaring from the sound system. The thrum of the crowd is electric and he’s in so much pain that he doesn’t hear Dean storming down the ramp either. The crowd sounds happy, but he’s not sure what they’re so excited about until he sees Dean sliding into the ring out of the corner of his eye. Seth waits for the inevitable blow, waits for the steel chair shot to the back that he probably deserves. He expects Dean to help the Authority and finally get some of that revenge he’s waited for. Instead the crowd cheers louder, deafening, as Dean drop kicks Hunter to the mat and narrowly dodges Kane's hand. He wants to get up and help; wants to fight alongside his brother again, but his arms and his legs feel more like jelly than skin and bone. In fact, he’s pretty sure that Kane has dislocated his shoulder in that last choke slam to the mat.

 

When Seth blinks his eyes back open a few moments later he finds the ring has been cleared and four unfamiliar faces are standing over him, trying to get his attention. They’re running through a list of questions that he can’t seem to remember the responses for, so he slowly blinks a few more times and then closes his eyes again. Seth can't see Dean, but he can hear his voice in the distance, yelling up the ramp at Hunter and Kane.

 

"We need to move him backstage," one of the medics says, yelling towards Dean to help them load Seth onto a bright yellow backboard laying nearby. Dean’s next to him in a second with one hand on Seth's good arm, warm and reassuring, while the other hand is on the edge of the backboard as they slide him out of the ring and onto a stretcher.

 

Seth drifts. One time he wakes up he's in the trainer's office. The table underneath him is hard and uncomfortable. Seth’s shoulder stings and he moans in pain when he tries to move it. He's alone, but he can hear muffled and angry voices in the hallway. The next time he comes to, he's gently rocking back and forth in the back of an ambulance. The paramedic he remembers from the ring smiles down at him briefly before pumping him full of pain medications and sedatives. He tells him to sleep, that they'll be at the hospital soon, and that he's in the best, most capable hands. Seth wants to believe him, but his sense of trust is shaky at best right now. He closes his eyes and wonders if this is how Dean and Roman felt after his own betrayal.

 

Dean’s there when Seth wakes up in the hospital. He's curled up on a plastic chair next to Seth’s bed with a leather jacket draped over his torso. His hair is matted and messy like he’s been pulling at it anxiously. A nurse sticks her head in, smiling at the sleeping Dean before focusing on Seth.

 

The woman smiles warmly at him. She’s the first person outside of the Authority to consider him with any sort of emotion that isn’t anger or hatred. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Sore,” he says hoarsely and she grabs the glass of water that is sitting on his bedside table.

 

“That’s to be expected. You took quite a beating to the shoulder and your back. You’re lucky nothing was torn or broken, but we did have to reset your shoulder so you’ll have to take it easy the next few weeks.”

 

Seth looks over at Dean, “How long--”

 

“Oh honey, he’s been right by your side the whole time you’ve been here. You’ve been out for a little over a day,” she says and looks at Dean with a smile. “He must really care about you.” She checks his vitals and brings him another jug of water before leaving the room. Seth knows Dean better than anyone else. He knows him as well as he knows himself, if not better, and so he knows when Dean is faking sleep.

 

“I know you’re awake,” Seth croaks out, sighing softly. “You’re not a good liar, D.”

 

“Well I guess it’s a good thing you’re good at that for the both of us,” Dean says. His doesn't open his eyes, but he’s pushed the leather jacket off of his chest now, draping it over his lap. When he finally does open his eyes they roam over Seth’s body and he lets out a sigh of relief. Dean diverts his eyes to his lap and plays with the zipper of his leather jacket; Seth smiles at the familiar nervous habit. He’s watched Dean do it plenty of times over the past few years, and the action blooms a feeling of warmth through his chest and face. “I was concerned about you. They said your shoulder was bad.”

 

“Feels sore now, but,” Seth responds and shrugs his shoulders, trying to reassure himself and Dean that he was okay after all. “I’m okay.”

 

“Ro was here,” Dean says softly. “He’s going to come back later.”

 

“Why?”

 

Dean furrows his eyebrows in confusion, “He was worried too. He just wanted to check on his daughter before he came back though.” Seth nods. “We’re still really pissed off at you, but the only people who get to kick your ass are us.”

 

“I betrayed you,” Seth says in disbelief, shaking his head. “You should hate me.”

 

“I don’t--” Dean huffs angrily. “Damn it, Rollins, I don’t hate you. I’m really fucking angry at you, but I don’t hate you. I did hate you for a while after you turned on us, but I--” it isn’t until Dean sniffs loudly that Seth realizes Dean is angry with himself for tearing up, not because of Seth’s words. “I understood, Seth. I was angry and hurt, but I did understand. I’m still really angry at you though and you still have a lot to make up for.”

 

“Is Rome’s daughter okay?” Seth asks suddenly after a few moments of awkward silence. "Is she hurt?”

 

Dean snorts, “She’s fine. Rome is just being a good dad. Overprotective, but, you know—“ Dean pauses and stares at Seth for a long moment. "Family is important to him.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Seth says soberly. “God, D, I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry. I was so stupid.”

 

“You were,” Dean says with a wicked grin. “But we’ll get through it. Eventually. Go back to sleep, little brother, I’m not going anywhere.”

 

Seth closes his eyes and only exhales when Dean grabs for his hand, “Love you, D.”

 

He can sense Dean’s smile, can feel it in the reassuring squeeze that Dean gives him, but he doesn’t respond. 

 

Not yet anyway.


	2. tiny spaces, big hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anonymous asked: ambrollins + seth and claustrophobia.
> 
> pre-ambrollins gets stuck in an elevator and Dean helps Seth deal with his ensuing panic attack. blink and you'll miss it shippy moments tho.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for brief description of panic attacks, but nothing too graphic. claustrophobia and elevators do NOT mix as I can readily tell you first hand.
> 
> brought to you by cough syrup and pain killers.

He's going to die. 

 

He was going to die in this elevator and there was nothing Dean or Roman or Hunter could do about it. He was going to suffocate to death, in an elevator, with Dean fucking Ambrose, of all people. They’d known each other for all of a month and they already couldn’t get along. Their personalities clashed; they didn’t like the same music or the same foods. They never could decide who would drive to the next house show or hotel, and in the end Roman almost always drove anyways. Seth loved working out, but it was like pulling teeth whenever he and Roman tried to drag Dean down to a gym with them. They’d both bonded with Roman easily. Liking Roman Reigns was the only thing they could agree on.

 

And yet despite all of their arguments and disagreements Dean is kneeling on the floor of the elevator next to him. He has one hand on Seth’s knee and the other balancing himself against the elevator’s back wall. Before Seth can shove Dean’s hand away he realizes that it’s the only thing that’s keeping him from completely losing it on the elevator floor.

 

Seth can see Dean’s lips moving, like he’s talking to him in slow motion. But everything Dean's saying to him sounds like he's far away or under water. It feels like he’s wearing a shitty brand of noise canceling headphones, one that cuts out only some of the background noise and leaves everything else muffled.

 

“So we’re walking around Las Vegas trying to find our buddy who had just met this girl. And my god Seth we’re _praying_ that he didn’t elope with her because I was sure that she was a prostitute. And they all get angry at me for stereotyping some poor, beautiful girl. But I just _know better_. And we find them before they drunkenly exchange vows, which is just as well because an hour later she turned out to be the prostitute I told them she was. And so of course I fell in love with the city and had to move there,” Dean’s rambling is annoying and it’s the most he’s talked without involving a screaming match, but it's also reassuring in a way. He’s not trying to placate him with shitty phrases from some _How to Deal With A Panic Attack_ pamphlet. "Not that I’m ever there enough to really call it my home. I still like to think of Ohio as home, even though it’s not perfect and my childhood was kind of horrible, but it’s still home. Y’know? Aren’t you from Wisconsin or something?”

 

“Iowa,” Seth manages to choke out, and Dean squeezes his knee. There’s a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his lips when Seth takes a slow but shaky deep breath. 

 

“Iowa, right! The road is our temporary home, but it always feels good to go back to where you’re _really_ from.” Dean looks uncertain for a moment before asking, “Are you going to punch me if I ask how you’re doing?” Seth shakes his head. “I personally know all about panic attacks in small spaces. Maybe if you ask nicely I’ll tell you about it sometime. Talking helps though; it’s a good distraction. I don’t know how much longer they’re going to be. We haven’t been in here too long, but I’m sure if we don’t show up to the meeting Hunter and Roman will start to worry that we’ve killed each other and come looking for us.”

 

“The emergency button isn’t working?”

 

“That’s the red one right?” Dean jokes, grinning from ear to ear when Seth smacks his shoulder in response. “I already tried that.”

 

“I just don’t like elevators,” Seth says softly, and Dean squeezes his knee again. Seth likes it. He likes the contact, likes feeling connected to someone, so he doesn’t pull or push him away.

 

“That’s the second thing we have in common!” Dean exclaims and sinks down to the floor, his hand never leaving Seth’s knee as he situates himself so their hips are touching.

 

“Second?”

 

“Well we both enjoy Roman’s company, for some reason,” Dean points out. “Y’know, I’m sure we have a lot more in common than we think. We just haven’t been able to get past the differences yet.”

 

“We both love wrestling,” Seth says, pointing to their gym bags long abandoned by the elevator door. 

 

“We’re both terrified of Paul Heyman,” Dean says and Seth snorts, elbowing Dean in the ribs.

 

“I’m not afraid of Paul Heyman,” Seth tells him, but the look on his face says otherwise. “I love horror movies.”

 

“Really?” Dean looks at him then, face bright, eyes wide, and his smile even wider. “I love horror movies! Roman hates them.”

 

They talk for almost two hours before someone finds them and opens the elevator door. Roman looks amused at their position on the elevator floor, but Hunter looks annoyed at having wasted an entire day. Once the doors open and Seth sees Roman and Hunter, the color begins to return to his cheeks and his breathing evens out again. Dean pushes himself up and then with Roman’s help pulls a still shaky Seth up as well.

 

Dean moves to follow Roman out of the elevator but Seth stops him, wrapping a hand around his wrist gently, “Dean.”

 

The man turns, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, “Yeah?”

 

“Thank you.”

 

“That’s what friends are for, right?” Dean says, smile brilliant and Seth can’t help but smiling in return. 

 

“Still—thanks. I don’t think I would have been okay in there on my own.”

 

“Anytime, bro,” Dean grins and wraps an arm around Seth’s shoulders as they both exit the elevator together and head towards the stairwell. “So how should we get on Hunter's nerves during today’s meeting? Did you see his face? I thought he was going to literally explode all over us."

**Author's Note:**

> title is from Hozier's Take Me To Church


End file.
